Princess Juniper’s father sent her  message, in Queen’s Basin, two weeks ago telling how his kingdom is under attack by the Monsians. Meanwhile, her cousin Cyril unsuccessfully  tried to usurp  her valley. Later, Cyril admits, ” I know who thieved your horses.”(22) What else can go wrong in Princess Juniper’s life? Juniper’s group can’t help her father without their horses, so Juniper will work with her treacherous cousin Cyril to get the horses back. This leads to an adventure through tunnels in the mountain to find a whole different world. Little by little, Juniper realizes this is the world her deceased mother came from, the world of the Anju. The Anju have prematurely lost their leader. They are preparing to celebrate their lost leader’s life and then, begin the trials to determine who their new leader will be. It is slowly revealed, Juniper’s mother is of the Anju bloodline to take part in the trials. Now, Juniper feels she must go through the three Trials: Tests of Might, Mind, and Mettle. If Juniper is successful, she will have the army she needs to help her father.   Juniper is considered an outsider by most of the Anju, but a case is made to allow her to be in the trials.  Trickery, skill, and happenstance woven together by several in the trials eventually determine Juniper to be the new chieftain of the Anju. But how will Juniper be a proper chieftain for the Anju if she does not, in fact, know their culture? How will the Anju be a willing army to fight for Juniper’s father when they are against violence? Once again, Juniper must deal with the problems of being a leader, but this time by declining the role of Anju’s chieftain.  And by doing this, Juniper wins the trust of Zetta, the second in the trials, now the Anju’s new chieftain. Zetta vows to help Juniper in her fight with the Monsians, who are also longtime enemies of the Anju.

Get ready for book three.